SPRING ARRIVAL OF THE BIRDS. 33 
both in fullsong. Their flight was at first downward and 
very rapid, but when within a few feet of the earth 
they began to ascend, first one above, then the other, 
up, up, as We may suppose the skylarks mount, all the 
time singing so loud and with such vehement fervor 
that the whole field seemed filled with melody. It was 
a trial of flight as well as of song; of speed and physi- 
cal endurance as well as of musical capabilities. The 
cause was soon manifest. A female sat demurely in the 
tree from which the others flew, evidently the prize for 
which so glorious a contest was carried on. When the 
two rivals came again in sight she joined them, and the 
three flew to another part of the field. The result to 
me was unknown, but the contest of flight and of song— 
how much better weapons than pistols or slander or 
gold! I am satisfied that in singing these different 
themes the birds have a particular object in view, for 
birds as well as men are actuated by motive. Those 
mentioned first, the quiet warblings, are not to attract 
attention, but for the singer’s own gratification. The 
second, one judges from the conspicuous position of the 
birds, are given to attract others of the family, probably 
in most cases the females, while the songs uttered on 
the wing are generally the contests of rivals. 
The male purple finch in full plumage is very attract- 
ive in appearance, having much crimson on the head, 
shoulders and throat, and considerable paler red on dif- 
ferent parts of the body. Burroughs says: “It looks 
as though it had been dipped in cokeberry juice,” but 
the color is too light for that and not uniformly enough 
